Cut The Rope
by dreadlord789
Summary: It's always the quiet ones who have the most problems, and when they are at the end of their rope, sometimes all they want is nothing more than to cut that rope and feel the sweet release of freedom. AU and OOC characters
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, how's it going? Well, I'm not going to lie, I haven't really been working on anything lately (for anyone who is a Mechanical Engineer should know why), at least until this little gem popped in my head. Sorry if it's a bit angsty, but hey, we all need a little angst every now and then. So here ya go, enjoy it.**

_**Chapter 1**_

Eyes fluttered open slowly, reluctant to leave the sweet embrace of sleep, but the day waits for no man, or in this case, woman.

"Hinataaaaa?! Are you still asleep up there"

The seventeen year old girl groaned and rolled over, burying her face in the comfortable darkness her pillow provided, trying to stave off the day as long as possible.

"Just a few more minutes…" Hinata mumbled incoherently, knowing that she was the only one who heard it.

"Hinata, if you don't get up, I won't give you your breakfast."

Hinata could only picture the sweet smile on her mother's face as she heard those words. It was that smile that made her so much more terrifying than her husband, and that was saying a lot. After much debate the girl eventually threw off her blankets and put her feet over the side of her bed. She took in a deep breath and stretched, letting out small mewls as she popped her back a few times. She stood up and hobbled over to her vanity, spending a moment or two to take in her disheveled appearance.

"Hinata. Are you up yet?"

She could hear the frustration in her mother's voice; the playfulness growing thin.

"Yeah mom, I'm up! I'll be down in a minute!"

Hinata quickly ran a comb through her hair to get the knots out and slipped on a purple shirt. She looked around for her jeans, momentarily cursing the messy state of her room, and found them under a small pile of dirty clothes. She cautiously held then up the her nose and took a whiff. After a few seconds of decision making she smiled.

"We're good!"

She put on the jeans and made her way downstairs, not even remotely aware of how quickly her life would change today.

* * *

><p>Hinata sat at her desk waiting for class to start, content with just fiddling with her pencil. She was currently listening to her two friends, Sakura and Ino, argue over something that didn't matter, like clothes… yet again. Hinata loved them dearly, but sometimes she just wished they wouldn't act so girly all the time. She sighed; she knew that was just wishful thinking.<p>

The three girls had been friends since they were little, having gone to the same elementary, middle, and high school; and were even in the same class all those years. They had all bonded over a small set of Legos back in kindergarten, and they were stuck together like glue ever since. Of course it also helped that all three of their fathers had gone into business together, prompting them to spend even more time with each other outside of school.

Hinata's eyes wandered over to Sakura. She was a kind girl with hair as pink as cherry blossoms in full bloom, and her personality was as girly as her hair looked. Hinata never doubted for a second that she spent a minimum of two hours every morning getting ready for school. Hinata had always admired that Sakura cared so much about her outer appearance, because, quite frankly, Hinata didn't give a damn how she looked.

Hinata turned her gaze to her other friend. Ino on the other hand had hair so blonde it almost looked bleached, but Hinata knew from experience it was natural, especially since her father had the same color hair. Ino was similar to Sakura in almost every way, shape, and form; except that her bust was several sizes larger than their pink haired friend was, much to Sakura's dismay; not to mention she was as skinny as a twig. Hinata caught her more than once skipping out on lunch with the excuse that she had eaten a large breakfast that morning.

Since these two girls were so similar you might think that these two girls would then agree on every issue, but you know what they say, similar poles repel.

She was snapped out of her musings by her friends. "Hinata! What do you think?"

The raven haired girl blinked several times before she smiled, ready to give a sarcastic remark. "Yeah, I like clothes."

Ino and Sakura both rolled their eyes, knowing that Hinata never really took sides in these petty arguments. Before either of them could say anything else, the last member of their class came in.

"Oh great, _he's_ here..."

Hinata sent Ino a glance before she once again settled her gaze on the blonde boy at the front of her class. His name was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and he had been her crush since she was a little girl. But she knew she would never be with him, she couldn't, she didn't deserve him.

_10 Years Ago_

Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were walking out into the schoolyard for recess, excited to play outside, like they did everyday. Today they had gotten a new student, a little blonde-haired boy by the name of Naruto. Apparently he had moved in with his grandfather or something after his parents moved away, but the only thing that Hinata cared about when she saw him was his smile. He just looked so happy, and Hinata really wanted to play with him.

"Um; Ino, Sakura?"

The two girls stopped talking and looked at their friend, before Sakura addressed her. "Yeah Hinata?"

The girl smiled slightly. "Can we play with Naruto today?"

The two girls blinked a few times before looking at each other and shrugging. "Sure."

The three continued their pace outside, still deciding on which game to play when they got outside. So far it seemed tag tag was in the lead for first while hide-and-go-seek was a close second. As they got closer to outside they began to hear the sounds of laughter, but it was undertoned with a certain kind of uneasy feeling that made all the girls shiver slightly.

When they peeked their heads outside they found the source of the sound. There was Naruto, on the ground with his hands covering his head as a crowd of children were around him throwing what looked like books at him.

The girls approached the group and Sakura, being the most courageous, spoke first. "Um, what are you guys doing?"

A boy with pitch black hair and onyx colored eyes looked at the newcomers and held up a finger at Naruto. "This nerd brought out a bunch of books to read during recess! We're showing him that books are stupid! Recess is for fun, not reading!"

Sakura bit her lip anxiously. "But, Sasuke…"

Sasuke shook his head and grabbed a book before handing it to Sakura. "Just throw it at him, its fun!"

Sakura looked between Sasuke and Naruto a few times, deciding what to do. After a few seconds she made her choice, and it wasn't too difficult for her to make; after all, she did like Sasuke. She hurled the book at Naruto and hit him in the head.

Sasuke smiled and handed a book to Ino and Hinata before he returned to the crowd to watch. Ino quickly followed with Sakura and threw one of the books at Naruto, smacking him in the arm, causing him to curl even more into himself. She walked over to stand with Sakura, leaving only Hinata left.

Hinata's breathing became laboured, and she felt like she was going to pass out. She had never been so nervous in her whole life, and she just wanted to run away.

"Hinata, just do it! It's fun!"

The girl looked at her pink-haired friend with a questioning gaze. She fought herself for a few more seconds before she brought her arm back, ready to throw the object at a boy that had done nothing to deserve it.

It was at this time that said boy slowly unwrapped his arms from around his body and lifted his head, looking at his attacker.

Hinata would never forget the look on his face. He had small glistening lines rolling down his cheeks, shining in the glint of the sun. Hinata knew they were tears, having seen them more than once on her own face. As she looked more at the boy's face she noticed something she hadn't before when he was introduced in class, he had three small whisker-like scars on both of his cheeks, something that reminded Hinata of a small housecat. But what had haunted Hinata the most, was his eyes. It was the eyes of a boy that had a deep-rooted sadness, the kind of sadness that would devour a person whole, and trap them in a swirling vortex of anguish. She also saw a pleading look in his sapphire orbs, telling her that all he wanted was a friend, someone he could talk to, laugh with, grow up with…

"Hinata, do it!"

Hinata didn't even notice that her arm was lowering itself, and when she looked at her friends again, they looked impatient, and scared. Hinata saw the looks on their faces, and then knew that if she didn't do this, she would be just like Naruto, ostracized and cast out; and she would be dragging her friends with her.

Hinata closed her eyes and lifted her arm back up. 'I'm sorry...' She said in her mind.

She didn't look to see if she hit him, but from the small grunt that followed shortly after, she could only assume she did.

The rest of the day was a blur for Hinata, but she did remember that she spent the majority of the rest of the day crying, wishing she could take back what she had done.

_Present_

Even today Hinata was still disgusted with herself for what she had done, but she kept telling herself that she was saving her friends. At this point that excuse was all that was still keeping her sane.

As time went on the bullying got better from what Hinata could see. Kids eventually grew up and realized that they were just being cruel to a boy that had done nothing to them, and so they stopped. They didn't befriend him by any stretch of the imagination, but they instead settled on a strict rule of ignorance towards the blonde. He ignored them and they were more than willing to return the favor.

Hinata sent a look towards the blonde and noticed something strange, he seemed to be smiling, something he hadn't done since… well, Hinata couldnt remember the last time he smiled.

It got even stranger when he walked right up to Sasuke and tapped him on the shoulder. The Uchiha was equally surprised when he turned around and came face to face with the person whose life he had personally made a living hell for the better part of 5 years.

"Uh, what do you want?"

Naruto just softly smiled and patted the Uchiha on the shoulder. "Dont listen to anyone else Sasuke. Whatever Itachi does or whatever he accomplishes you will always be you, and nothing anyone else says can change that. Just be happy with what you accomplish with your own strength."

Then he just walked away, leaving the stunned Uchiha in silence.

'But… How… How did he know I was having familial problems with Itachi?' The Uchiha thought to himself as the blonde walked away. No one could see it but a mixture of emotions spread across Sasuke's face. He had always felt guilty about how cruel he was to Naruto, but his pride had prevented him from apologizing, and as time went on it seemed harder and harder to ask for forgiveness.

But then Naruto goes and says something so kind to a person whom he should hate? Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and buried his face in his hands, trying to hide his shame.

Hinata was confused at what had just transpired, having never seen or heard Naruto talk to someone with so much familiarity and warmth, or even talk to anyone at all for that matter. She, like the rest of the class, was wondering about why the blonde was acting so different, so much so that she didn't even notice that Naruto had walked up to her group.

Sakura looked at her two friends in equal confusion and was about to say something to Naruto, but he beat her to the punch.

"Ino," said girl glanced over at him, giving him her attention, "Don't listen to anyone else, I think you are just fine the way you are, and the only person who has the right to tell you otherwise is yourself. You are a beautiful woman who has her whole life ahead of her, so dont be afraid to eat what you want, because life is short and precious."

Ino brought a hand up to her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek. She had been struggling with Anorexia for some time now, and those words were all that she had ever wanted to hear. She walked into the embrace of Sakura, who put a comforting arm around her friend's shoulder.

Naruto smiled and turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you don't have to act girly just because your parents think you should. You should be free to express yourself however you think fits you best. If that means you want to wear baggy clothes and pierce your lip, than good for you, and if you are worried about what your parents will say, well, to hell with um!"

Sakura just stared at the boy she had never really spoken to before. There was no way he could know that she was having family issues with her mother; hell, not even Ino or Hinata knew!

Finally Naruto turned to Hinata, but he didn't say anything at first. He reached up behind his neck and unclasped a necklace, taking it off and handing it Hinata. "I want you to have this Hinata. It was my grandmothers, and she gave it to me before she died. It was really precious to me, but I want you to have it more."

Hinata took the necklace in her hands and looked down at it. It was a beautiful pencil-shaped piece of rough emerald that was a deep green color flanked by two lustrous pearls that shone with the brilliance of the moon.

Hinata looked between the blonde and the necklace and offered it back to him. "N-Naruto… I… I can't accept this."

The blonde chuckled and closed her hands around the jewelry. "I dont need it anymore Hinata. Besides, its a gift, and you shouldn't return a gift someone gave you."

Hinata nodded before she brought the necklace to her chest. "Thank you… Naruto…"

Naruto smiled and walked away, or at least started to. When he was a few steps away, he turned around and looked at Hinata again. "Hinata?" said girl tore her gaze from the necklace and settled it on the blonde once again. "Dont worry about that day on the playground. I forgive you, and you should forgive yourself too."

With that he walked out the door of the classroom just as Hinata began to quietly sob at her desk.

* * *

><p>After the teacher Kakashi had come in and managed to get everyone in their seats for class, he noticed that there was one boy missing.<p>

"Has anyone seen Naruto today?"

Everyone looked around in silence before Sasuke finally spoke up. "Um, he kinda... left... right before you got here."

Kakashi blinked. "You mean, he just left the room? Where did he go?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "I don't know."

Kakashi looked like he was going to question the class longer, but he just dropped it, living up to his forever laid-back style of teaching. If one of his students felt it was necessary to take a day off for personal reasons, who was he to argue?

He marked the Uzumaki boy in attendance for the day.

* * *

><p>Lunch had never been so awkward for the trio of girls. Even when Sakura and Ino fought, there was still conversation, but not now. Now there was just a thick tension in the air, as if there was a heavy blanket drowning out all thoughts of speaking.<p>

"So, does anyone have any ideas as to what the hell happened this morning?"

Hinata looked up to Ino and shook her head in response. "I don't… I don't' know."

Ino ran a hand through her bangs. "I mean, how the _hell_ did he know all that?! It was like he had a personal diary for us all and told us what we all wanted to hear!"

Sakura nodded in agreement. "And did you hear how he was talking? Every time he said something it was in the past..."

Hinata shoved her lunch tray away and stood up. "I'm going to go find him. There aren't that many places he could have gone, especially since the school has teachers watching the entrances ever since those kids started ditching school at lunch time."

Sakura and Ino could only nod their heads in response, still trying to wrap their minds around what had transpired earlier.

* * *

><p>After an hour and a half of searching, Hinata still hadn't found the blonde. She had checked everywhere; the gym, the locker rooms, the bathrooms, the empty classrooms, even the equipment shed in the back of the school! It was like he disappeared off the face of the Earth!<p>

"Wait… what about…"

She looked up at the roof and saw what she was looking for, Naruto was standing on the roof, gazing out over the landscape that was Konoha. The town was small and tucked neatly in the foothills of Japan, and the few times Hinata had been on the roof she had been blown away at the pure natural beauty of the view. She guessed he shared her appreciation for natural beauty.

She hurried inside, taking note that there were only a few minutes left until the end of school, only a few minutes to catch up with the Uzumaki before he disappeared with the school crowd.

She made it to the roof just as the bell rang, only to find that Naruto had already left. She sighed in disappointment, but when she looked below she saw Naruto walking away slowly, in the direction of the small "business" portion of Konoha. Hinata knew she would be able to find him there eventually, after all, she did spend the majority of her weekends there thanks to Sakura and Ino. She turned around towards the stairwell and ran to catch up to the boy.

* * *

><p>After more than a half hour she had finally found Naruto, walking out of the local flower shop with four bouquets of white tulips. Hinata ducked behind a nearby building as she saw him walk out of the shop and pause for a few seconds, simply looking up at the sky and breathing deeply. she was close enough to see him mouth a single word before he walked away.<p>

'Beautiful...'

* * *

><p>Hinata had followed him to the cemetery on the outskirts of town. She knew this place well since this is where she would often go in reverence of her ancestors, but that bit of knowledge didn't help her at all in piecing together why Naruto would come here.<p>

'Maybe he is giving his respects to his grandmother that gave him the necklace?'

She clutched the necklace below her shirt in response to her thoughts. When she looked back up she saw that Naruto was now kneeling before a series of graves, ones he had brushed leaves off of moments before he put flowers on them.

Hinata heard faint mumbles, and, after curiosity had gotten the best of her, she moved closer to hear what he was saying. After putting her back to a nearby tree so she was still hidden, she slid down so she was sitting on the ground, only a few yards from where Naruto was kneeling.

She closed her eyes and focused all her energy on her ears, straining them to hear what he was saying.

"I miss you both so much… It's all my fault… If I hadn't made us go out that night then… then… then you would both still be here…"

Hinata could hear the choking sound his voice started making in the end, telling her that he had started sobbing unrestrained.

"And then Jiji got sick *sniff* because he had to go back to work… It was all *sniff* my fault… If he didn't have to take care of me *hiccup* then he would still be here…"

Hinata clutched at the fabric above her heart, confused as the why it hurt her so much to hear him cry like that. It made her so incredibly heartbroken to hear his pain, and before she knew it, she was quietly crying with him from her hiding spot.

After a long time had passed and the sun began to descend into the horizon, Naruto wiped his eyes and stood up, walking away from the graves towards the exit.

Hinata waited a minute or two before she crept out and went over to where the blonde had been kneeling only moments earlier. She looked at the graves and gasped.

"These… These are his parents!"

On the graves, hewn from the rock read

'_Here lies Minato and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze_

_Loving parents in life and in death_

_May they rest in peace_'

Hinata couldn't believe it, when did they die? Is that why he never talked to anyone. Then she looked at the date and began crying yet again. It was dated for a week before he showed up in school all those years ago. Naruto didn't move in with his grandfather because his parents moved away, he moved because his parents were dead…

She looked at the next pair of graves, and she saw an equally sad sight.

_Here lies Jiraiya_

_A loving Husband, Father, and Grandfather_

_May he rest in peace'_

This one was… "This past weekend!?" Hinata gasped.

She glanced over at the direction he left from, and after a few seconds of consideration, she chased after him.

* * *

><p>She caught up with him after only a few minutes, and she decided to follow him to his next destination, just to make sure he was ok. He walked for another twenty minutes, bringing her to a house at the far end of town. It was an older house, which was apparent since there were vines growing up the sides, and it had a certain kind of lean to it that many modern houses didn't have. It also had older style windows and shutters, completely mismatching any of the other houses in the neighborhood.<p>

Hinata went around to the side of the house, peering in through an ajar window and spotted Naruto kick off his shoes. She could have sworn she heard a faint "I'm home" which was curious, considering there wasn't a car in the driveway to show that someone was home. Perhaps it was just a habit?

She watched as Naruto went up to some old looking cabinet and took out a bottle filled with a brown colored liquid. Hinata knew what it was, considering her father liked to have a small glass of whiskey after he came home from work every now and then. She also saw Naruto pull out a small white bottle from his bag.

He seemed to be studying the small bottle in his grasp for the longest time, staring at it as if he was making some kind of decision. It would seem that he reached his conclusion after he gave a long, weary sigh.

"What is he doing?"

Hinata just watched as Naruto unscrewed the cap and emptied the large amount of pills into his hand, and after staring at them for a moment, downed them one by one, until they were all gone. After this was done she saw tears leave the blonde's eyes, even as he grabbed the bottle and starting chugging the contents.

Hinata knew something was wrong at this point, something was seriously wrong. Her fears were confirmed when he saw Naruto mouth, "I'm coming mom and dad…"

She ran around to the front door and prayed that it was unlocked. She cursed when she found that it was locked after jiggling it a few times. She panicked and tried tugging on the locked door knob, but to no avail. It didn't even budge.

"Dammit!"

She tried throwing herself at the door, hoping to break it down, but at a measly 120 pounds, there was only so much she could do. Her breathing fluctuated, and it felt like she had just run a marathon; she couldn't get enough air in her lungs.

She looked around for a way in, and eventually her eyes fell upon a large rock in the dirt next to the walkway. She ran over and unearthed it and began bashing the door handle with the large instrument. Each hit jared her hands, it hurt, but she had to get in there. In reality it took only a minute or two to break the handle, but it might as well have been an hour.

After the door was broken she slammed it open and ran into the kitchen where Naruto was, already pulling out her cellphone and punching the numbers for 119.

She burst into the room to find Naruto laying his head upon one of his arms on the table, his back facing the intruder. Hinata gulped and cautiously approached the blonde.

"Naruto?"

When he didn't answer she sped up her approach.

"Naruto, can you hear me?"

She heard a faint splashing sound and looked down at his other arm, dangling dangerously at his side.

Her scream filled the night's air when she saw two long, deep, and bloody vertical cuts along the length of his arm, right above a large pool of his own blood, with a large steak knife right in the middle of it.

**END**

**So, like it, love it, hate it? Eh, say what you want, but I like it... kinda. Just tell me whether it was meh or it was bleh, or let me know if there are any glaring mistakes I overlooked. The majority of this was done on a google doc, so the formatting might have messed some of this up.**

**Peace Out**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys, I thought I would treat you guys and pump out another chapter. Now, I got some reviews like "Wtf, why are they not acting in character or why are there only like 4 people in the story?" Well, it would be boring as shit if I had them in character. There are several hundred pages of manga and several thousand fanfics out there with them in character, so if you want them in character, go read those. And what kind of story introduces every single character at the very beginning? Bad ones, that's what, plus it makes the first chapter needlessly long and tedious.**

**Now, like I said last chapter, the story was a bit angsty, but hey, it only gets better. You all know I hate stories where the ending is sad and shitty. The real world is cruel enough, I don't need to read about it (or write about it for that matter.)**

**There were also speculations that I had contemplated suicide. No, just no. While I have had my fair share of problems, I am a firm believer of struggling through problems and working them out. Nothing can be solved by taking your own life.**

**All of this is completely fictional and is in no way related to anything from personal experience.**

_**Chapter 2**_

Hinata sat in the waiting room of the hospital with her head in her hands. If there was ever a day she could go back and do it over, it would have been today, then maybe she could have helped Naruto before he did something so drastic.

'What if I didn't follow him? Then... Then he would be...'

"Hinata?"

The Hyuga snapped her head up to see who had called out to her. It was her dad. He walked over to her and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder as she stood up.

"How are you feeling Hinata?"

The girl embraced her father in a hug and buried her face in his chest. "Horrible..."

Her father didn't respond, but simply returned the hug. After a little while Hinata released him and took a step back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"We're proud of you, you know? Your mother and I."

She sniffles and looked up at her dad. "For what"

Her father just smiled and led her over to sit down again, something she did with gusto; she was exhausted.

"Tonight you saved a young man's life." He could see that his daughter wasn't convinced so he continued. "The doctors told me that thanks to your quick thinking, you managed to slow the bleeding with those dish towels long enough for the medics to get there in time. I heard that he might not even need a blood transfusion..."

He could see some sort of relief on his daughter's face, and so he put his arm around her and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Just get some rest Hinata. You've had a rough day."

He could see her eyes already beginning to close; she was more tired than he thought.

"I take it you'll be wanting to take the day off of school tomorrow then, huh?"

He was glad to hear his little girl giggle a bit before she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Shaking, "Ata?"<p>

"Huh, wuh?"

More shaking, "Hinata, you need to get up sweety."

The girl sat up, rubbing her sore neck and stretching a bit. "What's wrong dad?"

The older man sat up and held out his hand. "The doctor's told me your friend is awake and asked to talk to you. Would you like to visit him?"

Hinata gulped and started playing with her fingers. "I don't know... What would I even say to him?"

Her father shook his head with a smile before taking her hand in his, pulling her up on her feet gently.

"Sometimes Hinata, instead of talking, it's better to just listen."

Still unsure of herself, Hinata followed her father and a nurse down the hall towards the boy whose life she had saved.

The three of them stopped outside of a room, and the nurse stopped to say something.

"Please try not to excite him, he is still very weak from losing so much blood. If you need anything just push the red button next to his bed and I'll be there in a jiffy."

The lady smiled and patted Hinata on the shoulder before walking away.

"I think I'll let you go in alone. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about I go get us something from the cafeteria?"

Hinata looked in horror at her father. "You can't leave me alone in there dad!"

He simply smiled and gave a quick kiss to the top of Hinata's head. "I think whatever he has to say should be heard by you alone, sweetie. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

With that he too turned around and walked down the hall, leaving his daughter alone outside of the imposing door. After a few shaky breaths she reached for the door handle, but then her world went white.

_Tears were streaming down her face as she smashed the rock on the old doorknob, but it just simply wouldn't give._

_"Open up, open up, open up, OPEN UP!"_

_With a final hit the door broke and finally opened. She threw away the rock and ran inside, to stop Naruto from doing what she knew he was going to do._

_She entered the kitchen and saw Naruto sitting at the table, laying his head on his shoulder with a puddle of..._

Hinata shook her head viciously, expelling the horrid memory from her mind and stopping it from playing what she knew came next. With a deep breath she turned the door handle and walked in the door.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. It smelled clean, disgustingly so, as if someone was holding a bottle of bleach under your nose and had you take whiffs of it every time you had the breath.

What came next were the noises. Any kind of thought or function was drowned out by the multitude of beeps and buzzes. It was like something out of a futuristic science fiction laboratory.

And finally there he was, laying on the hospital bed like nothing had even happened. He looked so pale, so fragile, like a porcelain doll, as if the slightest touch would shatter him into a million pieces. Most striking though, was the look on his face. He looked at peace with everything, as if all the weight on his shoulders had been lifted.

She glanced down at his arms and saw a large bandage wrapped around the length of his forearms. She also noticed that his wrists were bound to the bed rails by leather cuffs.

"So he can't hurt himself again."

Hinata jumped and turned around towards the voice. She came face to face with a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. She had long flowing red hair that came down to the middle of her back, and eyes such a deep blue that they looked almost violet.

"Sorry about that hon, I didn't mean to scare ya. My names Kurama. I was Naruto's mother's little sister, so I guess that makes me his aunt."

Hinata just blinked and looked at the woman in front of her, a strange feeling if anger welling up inside of her. Where was she when all of this was going on? Why wasn't she there when Naruto needed her? Before she could say anything though, the woman in front of her prostrated herself, touching her forehead to the floor.

"I can never thank you enough Hinata Hyuga. You saved the only part of my sister I had left from being taken away, and there are no words to describe my gratitude. Just know that I will forever be in your debt."

Hinata was in a stunned silence. 'What the hell am I supposed to say!?'

She settled on kneeling down in front of her and lifted the woman's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. After Kurama had calmed down they both stood and wiped their prospective eyes of tears, those damned things never seemed to be too far away in this place.

"I'm such a terrible aunt... After my sister and her husband died I ran away from my duties and moved to America, leaving Naruto to be taken care of by his grandfather..."

Hinata just nodded along.

"He looked too much like my sister, you see. It was like someone took her face and put a blonde wig on it. I tried to write to him as much as I could, but it just wasn't enough."

Despite the situation Hinata couldn't help but smile at the imagery; she could just see a small Naruto with spiky red hair, dying his hair a bright blonde.

"As soon as I heard my father passed I rushed back as soon as I could, but it seems I wasn't fast enough. That's why I'm so grateful Naruto has such good friends like yourself."

Hinata felt like she had been smacked in the face. She wasn't one of his friends, in fact, it was just the opposite. She was one of the ones that drove him to this, one of the ones who were too much of a coward to take the time to become one of his friends, but she would change. She would become his friend.

"I don't think you're a bad Aunt miss Kurama. We all need time to grieve in those hard times, and everyone does that in their own way. At least you took the time to stay in touch."

The redheaded woman just smiled softly. "Not only pretty but kind as well? Naruto sure does know how to pick um huh?"

Before Hinata could deny her claim they both heard a light moan come from the blonde followed by some mumbling.

They both turned towards the boy in the bed.

"He was too tired, but he did want to talk with you. I don't know what he wants to say to you, but I do know it is probably private. I'll leave you two alone. I'll be right outside if you need anything."

Hinata didn't want the woman to leave, because then she would be alone with the boy. 'Well, I guess its time to do this...'

She approached the bed and lightly touched his hand. "Naruto?"

She forced herself not to move when she felt his hand grab hers, and weakly squeeze it. His eye fluttered open, and she saw the pure exhaustion hidden in them, he was tired, oh so tired.

She couldn't help but smile as his lips also curved upward, oh so slightly.

"You saved me..." It was more of a statement than a question. "Why?" There it was.

Hinata gulped. 'How should I answer this question? How could I… I barely know the reason myself.'

"Well… after I school I followed you for a while…"

Naruto's smile widened. "I know, I could feel someone else's presence there with me in the cemetery… thank you, for keeping me company there. It's much better than going with alone…"

Hinata was holding back her tears, trying not to be emotional right now when it counted the most. She took a deep ragged breath and continued. "Well, after the graveyard, I followed you to your house, and… well, I just couldn't let you do that."

Naruto's smile faltered and the look on his face turned guilty, he had probably gotten some sense put back in him after he talked with his Aunt.. "Yeah… that was a really bad day… I... wasn't really thinking straight."

Hinata nodded and let go of his hand. She reached up to the back of her neck and unclasped the necklace, pooling it in her hand and holding it out to the blonde. Naruto took a quick look at her hand and shook his head.

"I wasn't joking when I said that was a gift Hinata, I want you to have it, now more than ever."

Hinata's lower lip trembled as she brought the necklace up to her chest once again. She felt like she was going to explode.

"How…"

Naruto raised a tired brow. "How what?"

Hinata folded in on herself slightly. "How can you be so nice? How can you not hold a grudge against me, or my friends, or even Sasuke!?… How… How can you not hate me!?"

Before Naruto could answer she sat down on his bed and hugged him, burying her face in the pillow next to his head and sobbing loudly. She began unloading years of pent up guilt and self-anger to the only person who could hope to alleviate her feelings.

Naruto just closed his eyes and let her vent, after all, she had had a very trying night; saving his life and all. He owed her this one.

**END**

**AN: I hoped you all enjoyed another chapter, it only gets better from here, trust me. Tell me if you liked it or didn't, I don't particularly care. Please let me know how I can improve as both a writer and a fan of Naruto. Thank you**

**Peace Out!**


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